While we were redoing our kitchen, we lived with our in-laws and they had an Alexa. She’s very handy and I can see the appeal, but there were times when you’d look over and the light would be glowing and I just felt creeped out at the idea that something was listening.

I spent so much time reading I don’t really have time for commenting. But I loved so many things on this. And there are still more things I want to come back to later. I will say, I wish I could do a kitchen without upper cabinets. But I sure can’t in the one I have now. And the eye candy was so cool. Oh, and I’ve always hated when people share videos of their kids in distress. I just don’t get that. Not even that they are posting, but that they took out their camera to film it. It’s just mean.

When we planned out the kitchen here we discussed all the uppers being open shelves and ultimately ended up compromising. I got a long wall of shelves, but I just don’t think I could go without uppers.

I couldn’t agree with you more on people filming their kids in distress. WHY?? THOUGH once when Abram was throwing a tantrum about something when he was three I recorded it and showed it back to him (I had no idea what else to do because nothing else I tried was working) and he ended up laughing so…

I think filming in that context is really different from filming and posting it for all the world to see. And we’ve all had that moment when we just don’t know what the heck to do with a toddler. I guess I’m thinking of people who habitually film/post. Because there are some.

Hi Kate!
Oh my gosh—so much I want to comment on, but I know I’ll miss a few…

Love the clouds and the eye candy (sent both onwards to my kiddos, because they’ll love them too).

Alexa is creepy. We will never get one.

The evil genius article was really interesting, and helpful as well, as it fits in with some thoughts I’ve had over the last while about a particular friend. Also love the tips for better conversations!

I recently listened to a podcast on Ologies about personality tests—and was a bit disheartened to learn there’s not much scientific backing for the MBTI types. The big 5, on the other hand, is more accurate. (The results seem far less satisfactory though! Maybe I prefer labels?)

YES, to let’s stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up! AND let’s stop asking each other “what do you do?” (I feel like this might go hand-in-hand with the WSJ article on women’s equality starting in the home, but I was unable to read that one as I’m not a subscriber. Can you give me a 2-3 sentence summary and tell me if I’m right?)

The procrastination article was SO helpful! I’ve been procrastinating on something for months now and it’s totally for the reasons listed. Now that I know that, perhaps I can just do it already!

And lastly, thank you for the 5-minute therapy technique article. I have an incredibly mean inner critic, so I’m going to try that technique and see if it helps.

Have a good weekend, Kate!
(BTW, did your whole wheat cookies turn out?)

The article was written by Melinda Gates and discusses the importance of men taking on important household labor – even when their wives have chosen to give up their careers with motherhood. She also discusses many of the labors that fall to women – largely care taking in its many forms – and how that does a disservice to both men (who could benefit from developing those skills) and women (who don’t have time to develop other skills because care can be such an all consuming task.)

And while the big five may be more scientifically accurate, I’ll always like the Myers-Briggs.

I’m totally guilty of asking people what they do though I like to think I’m thoughtful when I follow up with “What’s your favorite part of xyz?” 😉

Hope your enjoying your weekend. We had ANOTHER snow day this week and I had analysis paralysis so the cookies are still waiting to be baked.

Thanks for giving me the gist of the article, Kate. Agreed on all the points you’ve mentioned!

(I get analysis paralysis too. Just in case you didn’t know: whole wheat flour spoils fairly quickly as the oily germ layer can go rancid—so it’s best to store it in the freezer until you figure out what recipe to try 🙂 .)

Hey there, I’m Kate!

I love yarn, photography, books, and a good cup of coffee. I blog like it's 2007. I write a lot about knitting, Netflix, and any other nonsense that strikes my fancy. Sometimes I get ranty. Welcome to my little corner of the internet!